Kids and Dogs Can be Tricky 🫣 #shorts

Kids and dogs can be tricky! 🫣

I’ve always known that Fenway can be sensitive around children. That’s not surprising given his general anxiety about a lot of life as a whole.

But he has successfully been around several kids before, and I know the things that tend to trigger him. The nice thing is that the same coping strategies I’ve taught him still apply here. He has a lot of space-increasing behaviors, and most importantly, he knows that if he’s uncomfortable he can simply walk away. It will take some practice for him to really apply that around kids, but he has a good foundation.

Right now, what we’re finding is that the sounds babies and kids make are pretty triggering for him. Which is understandable! The good news is it’s not specific to one kid, so I can work on it as a more general association.

We didn’t actually come to this park to train this, but we happened upon the opportunity. At the end of our walk — when the dogs were already tired and relaxed — I sat down with them a distance away from the playground and let Fen observe.

We stayed far enough away that he could watch without having big feelings about it, while I layered in some positive associations with very yummy chicken. The key was keeping him at a distance where his body language stayed neutral and he could casually observe… to the point where he was definitely demanding chicken 🤣

We only hung out for a few minutes before moving on, but it ended up being the perfect little setup.

I’ll have more time to dedicate to this when I get back from New York — this one is pretty high on my list.

Видео Kids and Dogs Can be Tricky 🫣 #shorts канала Sarah Certified - Dog Training